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think HTML should be HTM-hell? think again!Apr 12 '00 Write an essay on this topic.my first web page was a puny little thing cobbled together from some tips listed on my undergrad university's short "how to make a web page" paragraph (the one that fell in between "what is the www?" and "where is my web space?" in the student internet FAQ). it was horrible and embarrasing in every way: that awful grey background (because i didn't know how to specify background colour), disorganised content (because i didn't quite know what i wanted to say), and even the infamous "under construction" symbol (because it was the only graphic the poor page would have). gradually, over a couple years, that liddle homepage became a great sprawling network of documents, artfully linked to one another and covering a wide array of topics from travel to vegan dining to poetry. yes that's right; i invented epinions.com. (kidding! kidding! please don't sue me!) but eventually the site got to be too vast for me to update while continuing to attend graduate classes, and so it fell by the wayside, out of date, unloved, and forgotten. which is why, if you visit my page now, you will find only a cover page. but that doesn't mean that my HTML skills are languishing in disuse. no, i am also the webmaster of my department's website, which is in the process of getting a major overhaul. and in all my experience HTML-ing, here's the best piece of advice i can give you: learn from others. go check out your favourite websites--not your favourites in terms of content, but your favourites in terms of design. get a feel for what the creators of the site must have been going for. then check out their source code (this can be done easily in netscape and IE by using the view>source commands). compare it to the actual site to see how it works. then try certain tricks they used on your own content. do you like your information to be presented in tables? or in lists? or in frames? once you've done this, you'll be well on your way to becoming a skillful HTML programmer, and you may wish to check out various internet sites that offer tips and tricks, such as: http://www.htmlgoodies.com http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/ also, if it's a book you're after, look no further than the o'reilly book _HTML:The Definitive Guide_ by Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy. o'reilly programming books tend to be fun, in-depth, and easy to use, and this one is all three and more. good luck in your quest to learn HTML! --the internet girl herself  |
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